Laramie Plains

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The Laramie Plains is an arid highlands (approximately elevation 8000 ft) in south central Wyoming in the United States. The plains extend along the upper basin of the Laramie River on the east side of the Medicine Bow Range. The city of Laramie is the largest community in the valley. The plains are separated from the Great Plains to the west by the Laramie Mountains, spur of the Front Range that extends northward from Larimer County, Colorado west of Cheyenne. The high altitude of the plains makes for a cold climate and relatively short growing season. Unsuitable to most cultivation, the plains have historically been the site of livestock raising (primarily sheep and cattle). Historically the plains were occupied by Shoshoni, and later Cheyenne, before the first U.S. settlers arrived in the late 19th century. The plains also furnished a convenient transportation route through the region for trails that ascended through the mountains along the Cache la Poudre River. The Cherokee Trail (1848) and later the Overland Trail (1862) both crossed through the plains. In 1867 the plains were tranversed by the route of the Union Pacific Railroad as part of the first transcontinental railroad. The building of the railroad caused a boom in the valley population, with the establishment of "Laramie City", which later became the site of the University of Wyoming.